SEATTLE – Just as most Washington families are finishing off the Thanksgiving leftovers, state lawmakers will be headed into a special session to trim as much as $2 billion from the state budget.

The special session starts a week from today.

Most of the budget gap, says Marilyn Watkins, policy director at the Economic Opportunity Institute, could be paid for by repealing tax breaks such as the one the state provides to banks for profits they make on home mortgages.

“There’s absolutely no evidence that, that tax break has done any good for consumers in Washington or homeowners in Washington state. The only benefit is to banks who have gotten their big bailout and are doing quite well now.”